Balan Group says will respond to PMC’s Rs 3.2 crore fine notice after industrialist is back in country

The PMC charges a fee from companies and others to put up advertising boards during festivals, except Ganeshotsav, at public places in the city.

In the notice issued to the corporate group, the PMC has urged the owner to pay the fine in two days or face legal action. The advertising boards were illegal and defacing the city, it said.

“There was a violation of rules… The civic administration has taken note of it and calculated the fine of Rs 3.2 crore to be recovered from the corporate house,” said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Madhav Jagtap.

The civic administration found that 2,500 flex boards of 8 feet by 4 feet were put up from September 7 to 17 without its permission. The 80,000 square feet ad flexes were illegally put up and as per the Rs 400 per square feet charge for 10 days, the amount to be recovered comes to be Rs 3.2 crore.

Jagtap said there were complaints from citizens about illegal advertisement flex boards in the city and action was initiated against the companies.

According to the civic body administration, it was a routine action against those putting advertisement flexes in the city without taking permission. “The notice is served to pay the fee with a warning of legal action,” said a civic body officer.

Incidentally, the Punit Balan group sponsors most of the Ganesh mandals in the city during the Ganesh festival and Janmashtami and puts up advertisement boards of company products at the pandals.